monday musings and happies.

Sorry for the break. It was totally unexpected, but I was on Spring Break last week and just needed it, I guess.

I love the times when I have some much to blog about that I don't know where to start, but I'll start with today because it really has been a magnificent day.

Today was my first day back to classes after Spring Break, and I was totally dreading it. I was expecting it to be miserable. 

Until this afternoon happened...

I knew that my friend Jason Gray was sending me his new EP in the mail for my birthday (which was this past Saturday), and was expecting to get it today. Except that when I got the mail today there were TWO packages in the mail with my name on them. One from Jason Gray and one from my friend Breann. Hello! I mean...what the heck?! Breann sent me an Andrew Peterson and Eric Peters CD for my birthday. She provided the sweetest note, too. 

It's days like today and this past weekend as a whole that make me feel so blessed.

Today could have very well been a miserable day if I had allowed it to be, but God knew that I would need a pick-me-up, and provided it through these two sweet people. I'm so blown away by the ways that God is so involved in the details and knows exactly what we need before we ever do. Now I feel like it's possible to get through the next three and a half weeks until the semester is over.

I'm blessed and so so grateful for every single one of my friends. I love every single one of you. Thank you for being shining lights in my life.

monday happiness #5.

1. Staying up late because I don't have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning to get to class. There are good things about finals week!

2. The last week of my first college semester coming to a close. I'm so ready for Christmas vacation!

3. Christmas lights twinkling through my bedroom window every night. It's still one of my favorite, magical, things of the year.

4. Cooler weather. Okay...colder weather. Okay...FREEZING weather. It's in the 20's tonight.

5. Reading a book in bed. Only after hours spent in front of my computer compiling study materials for my Earth Science class. I'm reading Time Travelers Wife. I'm still not sure what I think of it compared to the movie.

6. Being content.

Only one dislike about today - finding out that Jason Gray will be 2 hours away from me the day after Christmas and I can't go see him.

DISCLAIMER: I'm still content, because I can't go for good reason. I will be spending the day after Christmas with my family enjoying our day-after-Christmas-tradition, where we wake up early, open our gifts with my mom, all pile in the van and head out to Cracker Barrel for a nice, warm, breakfast. Then we head home and play games and generally enjoy each others company for the rest of that day. Nothing can beat that. So yes, I'm perfectly content.

monday happiness #4.

1. Two days of school this week and knowing that the end of the semester is upon us.

2. Taking a nap unexpectedly. It was welcome, and I slept my headache off.



3. Getting back into reading Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller. It is blowing my mind again.


4. A spirit of thankfulness in the air.


5. Chocolate cake. That's all that needs to be said about that.

6. Doing exercises for my back (I hurt it last Saturday by slipping and hitting it on some stairs), and feeling exceptionally good about the way my back currently feels after doing them. It feels like some serious tension was released.


7. The sound sleigh bells ringing through my television when commercials are running. It's almost that time again!

8. Having my best friend back in Florida from Haiti (she's a missionary), and knowing that she'll be here for two or three months to have her baby. I'm glad she's back.

9. Having God open up my eyes this weekend to some things in my life that need to be changed.


Happy Monday, friends! What is has kept you going today?

monday happiness # 3.

 

My Monday happiness is a bit more than Monday happiness. It's more like Saturday, Sunday, AND Monday happiness. Which, by the way, I'm really grateful that I can say. I've felt like such a Negative Nancy lately, even though I know that God is doing amazing things in my life right now, and I can clearly see the many ways that He is blessing me daily. I don't know, maybe I've just been so caught up in my head lately. I've certainly been thinking way too hard. 

Anyway, Saturday I had the opportunity to take my Grandma out to lunch. I don't know why, but I was just especially cheery for no reason. Then I heard Jason Gray's newest single "I Am New" for the first time on the radio. Then I was especially cheery for a reason. :-)

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to drive 2.5 hours north to see Andrew Peterson in concert for the first time. It was such a wonderful show. A great night of storytelling about the greatest story of them all. I also got to meet up with some good friends in Ormond Beach. We got to geek out about music the whole night. It's weekends like this past weekend that really make me realize how much of a music junkie I am, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Today, though I was very much lacking in the sleep department, I still managed to have a great day. It might have a little something to do with the fact that I found out I finished my English class with a B. Meaning I had to have done way better on my argumentative essay on pirating music then I had originally thought. I feel like a dork now, because that paper caused me so much anxiety. I think I had nightmares about it and came close to hyperventilating a few times.

Also, we finally got cold weather. Cold for a Floridians standards, anyway. It has been so beautiful the past few days. That always does my heart, mind, and soul some good. 

I just feel like I was fed spiritually, mentally, and emotionally this weekend.

monday happiness # 2.

 This video was quite possibly the highlight of my day.

Something in The Water from Brooke Fraser on Vimeo.

monday happiness # 1.

Today...

I finished my first college class. ENC 1101 is history and I'm seriously geeking out about it. I only have to pop my head in next Monday to receive my grades, but I'm such a happy college student right now. I already feel like I have so much more time on my hands. It's a beautiful thing.

The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and there isn't a cloud in the sky. It's days like today that actually make me appreciate living in Florida. 

I am helping my mom cook dinner. We are having chicken, green beans, rice, and pumpkin pie for dessert. 

I am missing Minnesota in a big way. My best friend from camp, Annie, sent me a cell phone photo of a brilliant bright red tree in her front yard. She said she wished I could be there in real life to see the colors of fall. I wish that so much right now. 

I lit a candle with a match for the first time in my life. Not without burning myself, throwing a lit match down on the counter, and having my mom freak out. So I tried it again and I was successful. It was a momentous time in my life. Fire has been one of my greatest fears. Maybe I'm getting over that one, too. 

Just a little glimpse into my day. What about yours? What were some things you enjoyed about today? I'd love to hear about them.

Edit: I will be doing a Monday Happiness blog, well...every Monday. It's the beginning of the week, and quite possibly the most difficult day of the week for me. What better way to stay positive than focus on the joyful goings on of Monday's?